Manchester Central completes final phase of redevelopment

23-Sep-10by Annie Byrne

The final phase of Manchester Central Convention Complex’s £30m redevelopment has been completed ahead of schedule, its management says. Operations Manager for building contractor’s Laing O’Rourke, Peter Grieve, officially handed over Manchester Central’s new extension to Chief Executive, Lesley Tomlinson and Project Director, Dave Mallard on 8 September 2010. The third phase of the development added 2,000sqm of event space, which is able to accommodate up to 800 delegates. Moveable walls mean space can be arranged in up to three separate conference rooms, or as one multi-purpose space. “Everyone involved worked tirelessly to deliver this project on time and to budget,” says Tomlinson.Manchester Central’s three-year redevelopment also included the addition of two new foyer areas (Charter Foyer completed in November 2008 and the extended Central Foyer completed in December 2009). The venue’s full, official re-launch will be held in early 2011. Picture: (L-R) Roger Stephenson, Stephenson Bell architects; Peter Grieve, Operations Manager, Laing O’Rourke; Lesley Tomlinson, Chief Executive, Manchester Central; Dave Mallard, Project Manager, Manchester Central.

As the UK has voted to leave the European Union with a 52 per cent majority result, EN has spoken to members of the exhibition and events industry, to gauge their initial reactions on the future of the UK and their businesses.